Solar System in Minutes by Giles Sparrow

Author:Giles Sparrow
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781635061130
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2018-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

Europa

The second of Jupiter’s major ‘Galilean’ moons, Europa is also the smallest, with a diameter of 3,122 km (1,940 miles)

– slightly less than Earth’s Moon. Its smooth, brilliant-white surface seems to have little in common with the colourful volcanic landscape of Io, but the moons are more alike than appearances suggest. Being in orbit between Jupiter and Io on one side and the much larger moon Ganymede on the other renders Europa vulnerable to the same tidal heating that shapes Io. In Europa’s case, however, the presence of large volumes of water ice means that the heat has a different effect, warming a deep ocean of liquid water that is hidden from view (and protected from boiling into airless space) by a thick icy crust. Enhanced-colour images reveal that this crust is criss-crossed with pale, reddish-brown streaks, while some areas resemble the pack ice seen at Earth’s polar caps. Most planetary scientists agree that these features are caused by the crust slowly rearranging itself over time, as mineral-laden water and warmer ice well up from beneath.

Blackboard label

Large Blackboard

216 JUPITER AND ITS MOONS

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